The  Jewish  Pogroms 
in  Ukraine 


Authoritative  Statements  on  the  Question  of 

Responsibility  for  Recent  Outbreaks 

Against  the  Jews  in  Ukraine 

BY 

JULIAN  BATCHINSKY 

DR.  ARNOLD  MARGOLIN 

DR.  MARK  VISHNITZER 

ISRAEL  ZANGWILL 

Documents,  Official  Orders,  and  other  Data  bearing  upon 
the  facts  as  they  exist  today 


COMPILED  AND  ISSUED  BY  THE  FRIENDS  OF  UKRAINE 

MUNSEY  BUILDING,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

1919 


Stack 
Annex 

S 
075 


FOREWORD 

The  following  data  has  been  compiled  and  issued  by  the 
Friends  of  Ukraine  in  the  hope  and  belief  that  it  will  serve 
to  set  right  before  the  American  people  any  misunderstanding 
that  may  exist  in  this  country  concerning  the  true  position  of 
the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  the  territory  of  the  Ukrainian  Peo- 
ple 's  Republic ;  and  to  convince  them  that  the  Government  of 
that  Republic  is  earnestly  working  with  every  means  in  its 
power  to  insure  to  its  Jewish  population  the  same  civil  and 
political  rights  and  the  same  full  measure  of  protection  to  life, 
liberty,  and  property  that  it  guarantees  to  all  law-abiding 
citizens. 

A  dispassionate  reading  of  the  facts  as  herein  presented, 
including  the  testimony  of  several  among  the  world's  most 
prominent  Jewish  leaders,  is  invited  in  the  belief  that  it  can 
not  fail  to  convince  all  fair-minded  Americans  that  the 
Ukrainian  People 's  Republic  is  founded  upon  these  principles 
of  Justice  and  Equality  that  inevitably  shall  result  in  a 
"Government  of  the  People,  by  the  People,  for  the  People." 


The  Jewish  Pogroms  in  Ukraine  and 
the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 

By 

JULIAN   BATCHINSKY 

the  Ukrainian  Diplomatic  Representative  to  the  United  States 


(A  Letter  to  the  Editors  of  American  Newspapers,  published  in 
October  and  November,  1919,  by  the  New  York  Globe,  the 
Philadelphia  Public  Ledger,  Brooklyn  Eagle,  St,  Louis 
Jewish  Voice,  New  Orleans  Jewish  Ledger,  N.  Y.  Hebrew 
Standard,  Jewish  Monitor  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  Jewish 
Advocate  of  Boston,  Mass. ,N.  Y.  Evening  Post,  and  others.) 

DEAR  SIR: — 

Will  you  grant  me  an  opportunity  to  say  what  I  know  and 
what  I  feel  about  the  Jewish  pogroms  in  Ukraine? 

While  all  the  distressing  particulars  of  the  tragedy  and  the 
number  of  mournful  casualties  are  still  to  be  ascertained,  let 
us  still  hope  that  they  have  been  smaller  than  reported  in  days 
of  peril  and  anguish.  The  facts  can  not  and  must  not  be 
denied  or  justified  or  excused.  However,  they  should  be  more 
clearly  understood  by  every  Jew  and  by  every  Ukrainian,  by 
the  American  democracy,  and  by  the  world  at  large.  In  the 
name  of  humanity  and  for  the  future  of  Ukraine  we  should 
take  a  common  stand,  Jews  and  Ukrainians,  that  responsi- 
bility be  fixed  and  punishment  be  brought  to  the  guilty ;  that 
the  wrongs  committed  there  be  righted,  and  that  Ukraine  be 
made  a  safe  home  for  all  its  citizens,  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike. 

A  Republic  "By  and  For  People  of  All  Creeds  and 

Races." 

I  would  be  derelict  to  the  duty  laid  upon  me  by  my  govern- 
ment and  to  the  principles  upon  which  it  is  acting  and  fight- 


2116783 


iiig  if  I  should  express  any  other  opinion.  Neither  can  I  keep 
silent.  The  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is  intended  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people  of  all  creeds  and  races  of  Ukraine. 
Though  guiltless,  We  owe  it  to  a  due  regard  for  our  own  rights 
as  a  nation  that  we  do  not  hide  ourselves  behind  the  excuse 
that  we  are  not  our  brother's  keeper. 

So  sincerely  do  we  believe  in  these  things  that  I  speak  the 
mind  and  the  wish  of  my  government  when  I  say  that  it  is 
its  earnest  desire  and  purpose  that  full  justice  be  done  to  the 
Jewish  people  in  Ukraine  in  their  time  of  distress  and  dismay. 
The  government  of  the  Ukrainian  People 's  Republic  is  anxious 
that  an  international  investigation,  careful  and  detailed,  with- 
out any  political  consideration  and  without  favor  or  disfavor 
to  any  one,  should  look  into  every  crime  committed  on  the 
bloodstained  soil  of  Ukraine  and  establish  the  responsibility 
of  the  criminals. 

Ready  to  Accept  any  Inquiry  ~by  America  and 
American  Jews. 

It  is  ready  to  accept  any  inquiry  that  may  be  made  by 
America  and  by  American  Jews.  It  insists  that  the  Ukrain- 
ian People's  Republic,  its  aims  as  well  as  its  ways  and  means, 
and  the  Ukrainian  national  movement  in  general  be  included 
and  submitted  to  a  most  scrupulous  examination. 

I  beg  only  the  privilege  that  the  heading  of  the  indictment, 
' '  Pogroms  in  Ukraine, ' '  may  not  by  itself  and  not  in  advance 
imply  a  ready  judgment  upon  the  Ukrainian  People's  Re- 
public and  its  government.  They  are  protecting  the  land  and 
the  people  of  Ukraine  against  things  that  they  can  not  control 
or  alter,  namely,  the  action  of  others. 

Since  the  very  revival  of  Ukrainian  national  aspirations  150 
years  ago,  Ukraine's  struggle  for  freedom  has  remained  un- 
infected  by  any  jingoistic  greed,  nationalistic  ambitions  or 
racial  prejudices.  Until  the  late  decade  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  reactionary  party  in  Ukrainian  politics,  because  any 
form  of  allegiance  to  our  nationality  and  even  the  very  name 
of  Ukraine  were  considered  as  evidence  of  disloyalty  and  trea- 
son against  czarist  Russia.  When  the  growing  strength  of 


the  Ukrainian  national  movement  had  begun  to  convert  some 
of  the  reactionary  elements,  its  main  aims  and  objects  were 
already  safeguarded  under  revolutionary  control. 

No  Quarrel  with  the  Jews  for  Several  Generations. 

I  want  you  to  realize  that  for  several  generations  past  we 
have  had  no  quarrel  with  the  Jewish  people.  Of  course,  a 
handful  of  Jewish  bourgeoisie  lent  themselves  to  support  the 
Russian  domination  in  Ukraine  and  the  Polish  rule  in  Ukrain- 
ian Galicia  against  the  people  and  the  democracy  of  their 
countries.  For  generations  no  evidence  can  be  traced  out, 
either  on  Ukrainian  nor  on  Jewish  side,  of  any  antagonism 
between  Ukrainian  national  aspirations  and  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple, Jewish  nationality  and  Jewish  life  in  our  country.  There 
has  been  no  reason  for  any  antagonistic  tendencies. 

And  yet,  a  sinister  spirit  of  pogroms  rules  throughout 
Ukraine.  It  was  the  spirit  of  czarist  Russia.  The  adminis- 
tration, the  bureaucracy,  and  the  police  of  the  empire,  school, 
church,  and  yellow  press  were  instrumental  in  setting  the 
population  of  Ukraine  against  the  Jews.  It  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  that  Jews  were  persecuted  and  outraged 
and  slain  to  avert  growing  dissatisfaction  of  the  workingman, 
and  the  pauperized  peasant,  and  to  justify  further  repression 
of  liberal  elements.  Many  a  Ukrainian  pauper  and  many  a 
Ukrainian  scamp  received  their  murderous  weapons  and  their 
ignominious  orders  from  the  criminals  much  higher  up. 
Ukrainian  democracy,  muzzled  and  strangled,  was  so  deprived 
of  any  influence  on  what  was  happening,  under  the  czar's  rule, 
as  the  unfortunate  victims  themselves. 

Bonds  of  Common  Interest  Between  Races  in 
Galicia. 

In  Eastern  Galicia,  where,  in  spite  of  oppression  and  perse- 
cution, the  Ukrainian  democracy  has  succeeded  in  controlling 
the  feelings  of  the  people,  no  outburst  of  racial  hatred  has 
ever  been  recorded,  the  proximitj'  of  Russia,  Poland  and  Rou- 
mania  and  the  anti-Semitic  efforts  of  the  Polish  administration 
notwithstanding.  Moreover,  during  the  last  years  the  Ukrain- 


G 

ians  and  the  Jews  in  Galicia  have  been  drawn  closely  together 
by  bonds  of  common  interest  and  of  mutual  understanding. 

After  the  breakdown  of  the  Russian  empire,  the  Ukrainian 
People's  Republic  has  been  established  on  the  territory  of 
Ukraine,  and  at  the  very  inception  of  this  republic  the  first 
Ukrainian  Parliament  (Central  Rada)  has  abolished  all  racial 
restrictions  enforced  by  the  Russian  government,  and  has  pro- 
claimed the  principle  of  self-determination  and  of  full  liberty 
of  self -development  for  all  racial  groups,  carrying  out  these 
principles  in  practice. 

Being  one  of  the  principal  racial  minority,  the  Jews  in 
Ukraine  have  had  granted  by  law  a  full  autonomy  and  have 
had  secured  by  the  Ukrainian  government  all  moral  and  ma- 
terial means  that  are  necessary  for  the  development  of  their 
nationality  and  for  the  advancement  of  their  national  culture. 
Jewish  representatives  have  been  invited  and  admitted  to  a 
real  participation  in  government  and  to  leadership  in  deter- 
mining the  destinies  of  the  country.  Our  friendship  was  ac- 
cepted without  reservation,  and  I  can  say  with  a  good  deal 
of  confidence  that  there  was  no  Jewish  faction  in  our  country 
which  did  not  admit  that  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 
meant  the  realization  of  the  best  hopes  and  rights  of  the 
Jewish  people  in  Ukraine. 

Looking  Forward  in  Hope  to  Days  of  Recon- 
struction. 

I  have  no  disposition  to  boast  of  what  my  government  has 
accomplished — in  1917.  It  has  merely  done  its  duty.  We 
have  always  believed — and  we  still  hope — that  in  days  of  re- 
construction the  Jewish  population  of  Ukraine  will  be  of  in- 
finite service  to  the  country.  As  a  matter  of  course,  they 
will  become  conscious  of  their  moral  partnership  only  when 
they  experience  the  fullest  freedom  of  their  independent 
growth. 

We  have  waited  many  months  for  these  days  of  readjust- 
ment and  recuperation  to  come,  and  they  have  not  come.  It 
is  very  hard  to  say  in  quiet  phrases  what  has  happened  in 
Ukraine  since  the  revolution.  War  and  disorder,  devastation 


and  confusion,  became  the  lot  of  the  distracted  country.  The 
Ukrainian  People 's  Eepublic  has  had  to  defend  its  very  ex- 
istence against  German  invasion,  against  Eussian  Bolshevist 
conquest,  against  Poland's  noble  legions,  against  Denikin's 
Cossack  raids,  and  the  dark  forces  behind  them,  against  in- 
ternal strife,  against  marauding  bandit  gangs,  against  an  eco- 
nomic ruin,  against  a  complete  breakdown  and  disaster. 
For  the  Jew,  this  disaster  resulted  in  pogroms. 

Fairness  in  Judgment  as  to  Who  are  the  Guilty 

Who  are  the  guilty  ones?  Who  has  to  bear  the  ghastly  re- 
sponsibility ? 

The  errand  I  am  bound  on  to  America,  comprises  no  obli- 
gation to  lie  either  for  my  country  or  for  my  countrymen. 
Before  we  condemn  anybody  we  have  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
ourselves.  I  must  admit  that  information  now  in  my  pos- 
session fully  establishes  the  fact  that  in  one  case — a  very  se- 
vere one  (Proskurow) — soldiers  from  the  Ukrainian  People's 
Army  were  the  perpetrators.  It  was  not  upon  the  impulse  of 
the  government,  nor  upon  a  military  command  that  they  slew 
helpless  people.  It  was  not  with  knowledge  of  Simon  Pet- 
lura,  but  against  his  strictest  orders  and  against  the  purpose 
of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic. 

There  is  some  evidence  of  old-fashioned  provocation  or  of 
criminal  mistake  or  wilful  disobedience  on  the  part  of  the 
local  commander  in  several  other,  fortunately  less  disastrous, 
cases.  Just  these  cases,  wherever  the  name  of  Ukrainian 
People's  Republic  or  of  Simon  Petlura  is  involved,  we  want 
to  be  investigated  first  of  all. 

But,  allow  me  to  say,  these  are  rather  exceptional  cases. 

Spirit  of  Czarist  Russia  Kept  Alive  'by  Dark 
Forces. 

The  spirit  of  czarist  Russia  is  being  kept  very  much  alive, 
not  only  through  the  efforts  of  Denikin,  his  backers,  but  by 
the  dark  forces  hidden  throughout  all  the  territory  of  the 
former  Russian  Empire,  by  the  rank  and  file  of  the  old  Black 


8 

Hundreds,  by  many  others.  It  is  the  Russia  of  infamous 
memory  against  which  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is 
fighting  for  deliverance. 

It  is  also  known  that  pogroms  have  been  carried  out  in 
Ukrainian  territory  occupied  by  Russian  Bolshevist  armies. 
Jews  have  been  robbed  and  driven  from  their  homes  and  slain 
by  Bolshevist  marauders  and  by  Soviet  troops  themselves, 
which  are  characterized  by  a  great  variety  of  discipline  and 
of  purpose. 

In  Western  Ukraine — Galicia  and  a  part  of  Volhynia — 
Jews,  as  well  as  Ukrainians  themselves,  have  been  persecuted 
and  outraged  and  starved  out  by  invading  Polish  legions. 

Finally,  large  parts  of  Ukrainian  territory  seem  to  be  a  No 
Man 's  Land,  where  various  bandit  gangs  are  preying  upon  the 
people.  They  comprise  adventurers  and  brigands  mostly,  of 
—I  am  sorry  to  admit — Ukrainian  language  and  descent,  the 
same  as  lynching  mobs  in  America  consist  of  Americans. 

Little  of  Disturbed  Area  Controlled  by  Ukrainian 
Government 

The  bloody  tide  swept  within  its  wave  almost  all  the  ter- 
ritory of  Ukraine.  Only  a  small  part  of  this  territory  was 
controlled  by  the  Ukrainian  People 's  Republic.  The  pogroms 
in  Ukraine  took  place  during  the  winter  and  spring  months. 
Even  in  December  the  Ukrainian  government  lost  the  con- 
trol of  Eastern  Ukraine,  and  the  Ukrainian  army  fought  its 
retreat  battles  against  advancing  Bolshevist  armies.  Since 
February  the  territory  controlled  by  the  Ukrainian  govern- 
ment has  grown  still  smaller,  including  only  parts  of  Podolia 
and  Volhynia,  and  by  the  end  of  winter  the  main  body  of  the 
Ukrainian  army  had  been  forced  to  pass  over  the  Galician 
border.  Speaking  of  pogroms,  may  I  not  insert  that  maraud- 
ing soldier  bands  who  tried  to  continue  their  work  in  Ukrain- 
ian Galicia  have  been  put  down  and  executed  by  the  Ukrainian 
peasants  themselves. 

The  reconquest  of  Ukraine  was  begun  in  the  summer,  but 
still  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is  in  power  only  in 
Podolia,  Volhynia,  and  in  the  government  of  Kiev,  as  far  as  the 


city  of  Kiev  and  the  district  of  Uman.  In  this  territory,  I 
think  I  can  say  with  confidence,  the  dangers  are  now  passed 
and  overcome. 

The  government  of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is 
willing  to  redress  all  wrongs  committed  against  the  Jews 
in  Ukraine,  even  when  these  wrongs  have  been  committed  by 
its  worst  enemies,  but  it  must  decline  any  moral  responsibility 
for  innocent  blood,  to  prevent  the  shedding  of  which  it  has 
done  its  utmost. 

The  Ukrainian  Government  not  Criminally  Negli- 
gent. 

But  the  question  arises:  Has  not  the  Ukrainian  govern- 
ment been  criminally  negligent?  It  has  not.  The  director- 
ate— the  present  Republican  government  which  has  overthrown 
the  Hetman  regime — immediately  after  having  assumed  the 
power,  re-enacted  the  national  autonomy  law,  and  called  upon 
the  population  of  Ukraine  to  regard  the  Jews  as  friends  and 
as  allies  of  Ukrainian  democracy.  Proclamation  after  proc- 
lamation aga^^st  pogroms  and  order  after  order  against 
evildoers  have  been  issued.  Millions  of  rubles  in  damages 
have  been  paid  and  hundreds  of  murderers  and  provocators 
have  been  executed.  There  has  been  no  Ukrainian  government 
without  Jewish  secretaries  being  in  it.  Many  of  them  are  well 
known  Jewish  labor  leaders ;  all  of  them  are  true  Jews  in  whose 
word  the  Jewish  world  can  have  the  utmost  confidence. 

I  deeply  regret  to  say  the  government  did  not  succeed  even 
in  exterminating  all  outlaw  gangs.  Some  day  it  will  be  shown 
how  they  made  their  narrow  escapes.  Many  a  cutthroat  found 
refuge  by  hissing  the  flag  of  Bolshevism  or  the  image  of 
Saint  Russia.  I  instance  only  the  most  notorious  cases  of 
Machno  and  Grigoriev.  Machno's  bands  were  surrounded 
by  the  punitive  forces  of  the  Ukrainian  government  early  in 
winter,  after  they  made  their  first  appearance  in  and  around 
Katerinoslav,  but  they  were  rescued  by  the  rapidly  pro- 
gressing Bolshevist  advance.  After  having  supported  the 
Bolshevists,  Machno  joined  Denikin  and  left  Denikin  to  es- 


10 

tablish   himself   again   independently.     While   changing  his 
allegiance,  he  never  stopped  harassing  Jews. 

The  unspeakable  Grigoriev  revolted  against  the  Ukrain- 
ian government  which  tried  to  check  his  pogrom  activities 
and  went  over  to  the  Bolshevists  and  was  appointed  Bolshevist 
commander  in  south  Ukraine.  Then  he  betrayed  the  Bolshe- 
vists and  is  now  traitorously  gathering  the  reactionary  forces 
around  him,  the  very  same  forces  that  had  driven  the  Ukrain- 
ian people  to  revolution. 


Strongest  Possible  Government  Under  the  Cir- 
cumstances. 

The  government  of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is  not 
powerful  enough.  But  there  is  no  government  anywhere  and 
there  has  never  been  a  government  which  would  prove 
stronger  in  these  circumstances. 

The  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  was  set  up  thirty  months 
ago.  The  Directorate — the  present  government  of  the  Ukrain- 
ian People's  Republic — assumed  the  control  eleven  months 
ago. 

They  are  expected  to  organize  and  to  reconstruct  a  country 
which  has  been  disorganized  and  exhausted  and  corrupted 
by  more  than  a  century  of  czarist  misrule.  They  are  ex- 
pected to  assert  the  principles  of  right  and  humanity  and  to 
safeguard  peace  and  security  in  spite  of  continuous  war,  and 
revolution  within  and  without.  They  are  expected  to  do  this 
while  assaulted  by  three  powers,  each  of  them  superior  in 
arms,  money,  diplomacy,  and  propaganda.  They  are  ex- 
pected to  do  it  while  they  have  to  bar  the  invading  Bolshe- 
vist Russia.  They  are  expected  to  do  it  while  they  are  facing 
the  eastward  march  of  Polish  imperialism  to  the  west  and  the 
counter-revolutionary  Russia  to  the  east,  both  of  them  being 
supported  and  supplied  with  all  the  resources  of  western 
Europe.  They  are  expected  to  do  it  without  any  support  from 
anywhere,  with  a  peasant  army  in  rags,  with  only  a  strong 
will  to  protect  their  country  for  their  weapon. 


11 

Reliance  in  Final  Victory  for  the  People  of 
Ukraine. 

It  will  be  done.  We  rely  on  the  people  of  Ukraine  and  on 
the  final  victory  of  justice  and  democracy,  no  matter  how 
many  times  and  by  whom  they  were  betrayed.  But  it  could 
not  be  done  right  away. 

After  you  read  the  charges  contained  in  documents  which 
are  being  issued  in  Warsaw  or  in  Rostov  or  in  Moscow — use 
your  own  judgment.  Ukraine  is  practically  isolated  from 
the  rest  of  the  world.  The  governments  fighting  the  Ukrain- 
ian People's  Republic  disseminate  the  most  foul  charges 
against  those  they  are  trying  to  destroy.  Recently  in  cor- 
respondence emanating  from  Rostov,  and  from  Paris,  the 
war  between  Denikin's  Russian  army  and  the  Ukrainian 
People's  army  has  been  represented  as  ''a  struggle  for  and 
against  Israel."  Denikin  is  protecting  the  Jews  and  this  is 
why  Petlura,  who  is  relentlessly  against  them,  has  declared 
war  against  Denikin.  I  ask  you  to  supply  your  hard  business 
sense :  can  you  think  that  these  are  differences  between  the 
Czarist  generals  and  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic,  of 
which  government  four  Jews  are  a  trusted  part  and  a  Jew 
is  assistant  secretary  of  war?  Is  this  the  issue? 

I  know  that  on  this  side  of  the  water,  we  have  to  face  a  very 
great  deal  of  misjudgment  with  regard  to  our  national  aims 
and  principles. 

Jewish  Inquiry  Invited  in  Name  of  Government. 

In  the  name  of  the  Ukrainian  government,  Simon  Pet- 
lura, president  of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic,  issued  a 
special  message  inviting  the  representatives  of  the  Jews  out- 
side of  Ukraine  to  investigate  the  pogroms  and  the  attitude 
which  the  Ukrainian  government  has  been  taking  and  is 
taking  toward  the  Jews.  This  message  has  been  delivered  to 
the  Jewish  committee  in  London. 

Acting  upon  instruction  from  my  government,  I  extend 
this  invitation  to  the  American  Jews.  Their  representative 
organizations  are  requested — through  their  representative 
men,  men  of  their  choice  and  confidence — to  look  into  the 


THE  NEW  MAP 
OF  EUROPE 


APPROXIMATE  BOUNDARIES  OF  PEOPLES 

BY 

HERBERT  ADOLPHUS  MILLER 
1918 


SLAVS  IN  STRAIGHT  UHC3  — 


fORMM  £W//l£  OF  AUSTRIA-HUHOARY 


UKRAINE 

AREA:     330,000   square 
miles. 

POPULATION: 
45.000,000. 

FORM  OF  GOVERN- 
MENT:   Republic. 

ESTABLISHED:   1917. 
CAPITAL  CITY;   Kiev. 


A  FRI  CA 


14 

sufferings  of  their  brethren  and  sisters,  to  ascertain  the 
causes  and  the  consequences,  to  establish  the  responsibility 
and  to  take  any  steps  it  might  be  necesary  to  take  to  prevent 
future  violence. 

American  Jews  Particularly  are  Asked  to 
Investigate. 

In  particular,  the  responsible  organizations  of  American 
Jews  are  requested  to  investigate:  whether  the  Ukrainian 
People's  Republic  is  organized  to  brigandage  and  revolt 
against  everybody  and  everything,  or  whether  it  has  been 
founded  to  obtain  independence  of  a  long  oppressed  country, 
and  whether  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is  spreading 
racial  hatred  and  intolerance,  or  whether  it  stands  for  equal- 
ity, freedom  and  free  development  of  nationalities  and  un- 
dictated  autonomous  self -development  of  any  race  or  nation- 
ality in  Ukraine;  whether  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 
is  warring  upon  the  Jews,  or  whether  the  Jewish  representa- 
tives are  a  responsible  part  of  its  government  and  Jewish 
men  are  fighting  side  by  side  with  their  Ukrainian  fellow- 
citizens  for  Ukraine  and  for  the  common  cause  of  all  her 
people;  whether  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic  is  guilty 
of  crimes  committed  against  the  Jewish  population,  or  whether 
it  has  spent  every  energy  to  keep  the  Jews  in  Ukraine  out  of 
danger,  to  punish  the  criminals,  and  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the 
sufferers. 

Widespread  Unprejudiced  Consideration  is 
Sought. 

It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  the  results  of  this  inquiry  may 
receive  wide-spread  unprejudiced  consideration. 

I  am  speaking  for  the  Ukrainian  Government  when  I  say 
that  the  investigation  will  meet  with  its  support  and  approval, 
and  I  think  that  I  can  say  with  as  much  confidence  that  the 
investigators  will  find  that  all  measures  have  been  taken  by 
the  government  to  safeguard  Jewish  lives  and  interests  and  to 
secure  to  Jewish  citizens  of  Ukraine  the  full  enjoyment  of 
their  acknowledged  rights.  The  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 
will  live  up  to  the  hopes  of  so  many  of  the  best  and  truest 
Jews  in  Ukraine  who  put  their  trust  in  her. 


15 

Soldiers  of  the  Ukrainian  People's 

Republic  Ordered  to  Respect 

and  Protect  the  Jews 

Daily  order  by  the  Supreme  Commander  to  the 
troops  of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 

No.  131. 

August  26,  1919. 

This  order  will  be  read  in  the  divisions,  the  brigades,  the 
regiments,  the  battalions  and  the  companies  of  the  armies  of 
the  Dnieper  and  of  the  Dniester  and  in  the  detachments  of 
the  insurgents : 

*  *  *  The  sinister  men  of  the  " Black  Hundred" 
and  the  "Red  Hundred"  are  but  one  band.  They  are 
assiduously  weaving  the  spider's  web,  provoking  pogroms 
of  the  Jewish  population,  and  on  many  occasions  they 
have  incited  certain  backward  elements  of  our  army  to 
commit  abominable  acts.  They  thus  succeeded  in  defiling 
our  struggle  for  liberty  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  and 
compromise  our  national  cause. 

Officers  and  Cossacks!  It  is  time  to  know  that  the 
Jews  have,  like  the  greater  part  of  our  Ukrainian  popu- 
lation suffered  from  the  horrors  of  the  Bolshevist-com- 
munist invasion  and  follow  the  way  to  the  truth.  The 
best  Jewish  groups  such  as  the  "Bund",  the  " Unified ",. 
the  "Poaley-Zion"  and  the  "Folks  Party"  have  will- 
ingly placed  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the  sovereign 
and  independent  Ukraine  and  cooperate  with  us. 

It  is  time  to  learn  that  the  peaceful  Jewish  population, 
its  women  and  children  have  been  oppressed  in  the  same 
way  as  ours  and  deprived  of  national  liberty.  This 
population  has  lived  with  us  for  centuries  and  divides 
our  pleasures  and  our  sorrows. 

The  chivalrous  troops  who  bring  fraternity,  equality, 
and  liberty,  to  all  the  nationalities  of  Ukraine,  must  not 
listen  to  the  invaders  and  provocators  who  hunger  for 
human  blood.  Neither  can  they  remain  indifferent  in  the 


16 

face  of  the  tragic  fate  of  the  Jews.  He  who  becomes  an 
accomplice  to  such  crimes  is  a  traitor  and  an  enemy  of 
our  country,  and  he  must  be  placed  beyond  the  pale  of 
human  society. 

Officers  and  Cossacks !  The  entire  world  is  amazed  at 
your  heroism.  Do  not  tarnish  it,  even  accidentally  by 
an  infamous  adventure  and  do  not  dishonor  our  Republic 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  Our  enemies  have  exploited  the 
pogroms  against  us.  They  affirm  that  we  are  not  worthy 
of  an  independent  and  sovereign  existence  and  that  we 
must  be  enslaved  once  again. 

Officers  and  Cossacks !  Ensure  the  victory  by  directing 
your  arms  against  the  real  enemy,  and  remember  that  our 
pure  cause,  necessitates  clean  hands.  I  expressly  order 
you  to  drive  away  with  your  arms  all  who  incite  you  to 
pogroms  and  bring  them  before  the  courts  as  enemies  of 
the  State.  And  the  tribunal  will  judge  them  for  their 
acts  and  the  most  severe  penalties  of  the  law  will  be  in- 
flicted on  all  those  found  guilty. 

The  Government  of  the  Ukrainian  People's  Republic 
has  addressed  an  appeal  to  all  inhabitants  of  the  country 
to  resist  the  activities  of  our  enemies  who  provoke  the 
pogroms  of  the  Jewish  population. 

I  order  all  troops  to  listen  well  and  to  retain  this  appeal 
and  to  spread  it  as  much  as  possible  among  their  com- 
rades and  among  the  people. 

PETLURA. 
Commander  in  Chief. 


17 

The  Jews  in  the  Ukraine 

Interview  appearing  in  the  "Jewish  Chronicle," 
of  London,  England,  granted  by, 

DR.  ARNOLD  MARGOLIN, 
Representative  of  the  Ukraine  at  the  Paris  Peace  Conference. 

Dr.  Arnold  Margolin  in  explaining  the  position  taken  by 
the  Jews  towards  the  formation  of  the  new  state,  said: 


"At  the  time  of  the  proclamation  of  Ukrainian  inde- 
pendence, the  Jews  were  divided  into  two  camps.  On 
the  one  side  were  the  Jewish  assimilators,  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  an  All-Russian  political  atmosphere,  and 
who  adopted  a  negative  attitude  towards  the  formation 
of  the  Ukrainian  State.  This  party,  which  numerically 
was  not  important,  was  supported  by  a  number  of  Jewish 
refugees  from  old  Russia.  On  the  other  side  were  ranged 
the  National  Jews,  the  Zionists,  Itoists,  and  Jewish  So- 
cialist parties,  who  took  up  a  favourable  attitude.  Those 
Jews  who  had  national  aspirations  of  their  own  could  not 
but  view  with  favour  similar  strivings  on  the  part  of  a 
people  which  had  hitherto  lived  in  a  position  of  tutelage. 
The  principles  laid  down  by  President  Wilson  as  to  the 
rights  of  small  nations  were  bound  to  be  applied  to  the 
Ukrainian  people.  So  far  as  the  social  programme  of  the 
State  was  concerned,  the  Jews  were  also  divided  into  two 
camps.  One  group,  which  was  not  very  numerous,  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  advanced  parties  of  the  Left,  which 
aimed  at  the  exclusion  of  the  bourgeoisie  from  State  af- 
fairs. To  this  group  belonged  the  left  wing  of  the  Bund 
and  the  Poalei-Zion.  The  other  group  took  up  the  stand- 
point of  those  Ukrainian  parties  who  supported  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  general  franchise  and  who  sought  to  apply  to 
the  Ukraine  the  political  system  which  obtains  in  West- 
ern Europe.  They  eschewed  Utopian  experiments  and 
Maximalist  aspirations.  Although  there  were  these  dif- 
ferences in  regard  to  the  social  and  economic  conditions 
involved  in  the  creation  of  the  Ukrainian  State,  nearly  all 
Jewish  parties  and  organizations  were  united  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  right  of  the  Ukrainian  people  to  determine 
their  ultimate  political  destiny  on  popular  lines." 


18 

Jewish  Autonomy 

What  was  the  attitude  of  the  Ukrainian  authorities  towards 
the  Jews?  our  representative  asked. 

' '  In  the  Ukraine,  including  Galicia,  there  are  three  and 
one-half  million  Jews,  as  compared  with  nearly  forty  mil- 
lions of  the  general  population.  The  Jews  thus  form 
nearly  eight  per  cent  of  the  total  inhabitants.  On  the 
initiation  of  the  new  regime,  a  Central  Representative 
Parliament  was  formed,  composed  of  all  parties  in  the 
country,  including  the  Jews.  About  seventy  per  cent  of 
the  seats  on  this  body  were  held  by  Ukrainians  proper, 
the  remainder  being  allocated  to  representatives  of  the 
Jews,  the  Poles,  and  Russians.  This  Parliamentary  body 
showed  its  willingness  to  grant  more  concessions  to  Jews 
than  had  any  other  constituent  assembly  in  history.  It 
conceded  autonomy  to  all  minorities  in  the  State,  and 
three  Ministers  were  appointed  for  the  affairs  of  these 
minorities,  including  the  Jews.  A  noteworthy  act  of  the 
parliament  was  to  appoint  a  Court  of  Cassation,  those 
judges  being  selected  who  had  had  the  courage  to  oppose 
the  Russian  Government  in  the  Beilis  trial.  In  April, 
1918,  I  was  almost  unanimously  selected  as  a  member  of 
this  Court." 

Dr.  Margolin  further  describes  the  changes  which  took 
place  when  the  original  Ukrainian  Government  was  over- 
thrown, and  superseded  by  the  Government  of  Hetman  Sko- 
ropadsky : 

"At  the  end  of  April  the  Hetman  Government  came 
into  power,  and  the  Central  Parliament  was  abolished. 
The  autonomy  of  minorities  was  also  withdrawn,  but  no 
serious  inroads  were  made  on  the  political  rights  of  the 
Jews.  The  Court  of  Cassation  was  not  disturbed,  and 
the  members  were  given  the  title  of  Senator.  A  Jew, 
M.  Gutnik,  of  Odessa,  was  appointed  Minister  of  Com- 
merce. The  Hetman  regime  lasted  eight  months,  and 
when  it  was  overthrown  by  Petlura,  the  new  Government 
restored  the  autonomy  of  minorities  and  again  appointed 
Jewish  Ministers.  M.  Goldelmann,  a  member  of  the 
Poalei-Zion,  received  an  Under-Secretaryship,  and  I  was 
appointed  Under-Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs.  I  re- 
tained my  seat  on  the  Court  of  Cassation,  though  I  did 
not  act  in  my  judicial  capacity  while  I  held  a  portfolio. 
Jews  were  also  included  in  the  various  diplomatic  mis- 


19 

sions  dispatched  by  the  Ukraine  Government  to  foreign 
countries.  Thus,  Dr.  Vishnitzer,  the  well  known  his- 
torian, and  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Jewish  encyclopedia 
published  in  Russia,  is  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  En- 
glish mission.  Jews  are  included  in  the  press  and  secre- 
tarial sections  of  the  French  mission,  and  a  Jew  is  one  of 
the  secretaries  of  the  Dutch  mission." 

The  Pogroms 

How  do  you  reconcile  the  outbreak  of  pogroms  with  this 
favourable  attitude  towards  the  Jews? 

"There  is  this  difference  between  the  pogroms  which 
have  unhappily  taken  place  in  the  Ukraine  and  those 
which  occurred  under  the  Tsarist  regime.  Whereas  the 
latter  were  instigated  and  connived  at  by  the  authorities, 
the  Ukraine  Government  has  steadfastly  set  its  face 
against  the  pogroms,  and  it  has  had  no  part  in,  or  respon- 
sibility for  them.  At  the  time  of  Petlura's  coup  d'etat 
at  the  end  of  November,  1918,  I  myself  read,  in  numerous 
towns  and  villages  in  the  Ukraine,  proclamations  issued 
by  the  Government  strongly  condemning  pogroms,  ex- 
plaining to  the  people  that  the  Jews  were  fellow-citizens 
and  brothers  who  were  helping  in  the  evolution  of  the 
Ukrainian  State,  and  to  whom  the  fullest  rights  were  due. 
The  proclamations  declared  that  pogroms  must  tend  to 
discredit  the  Ukraine  in  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world, 
and  those  who. took  part  in  them  were  no  friends  of  their 
country. 

"Unfortunately,  after  the  Bolshevists  took  Kieff,  and 
disintegration  set  in  among  the  ranks  of  the  Ukrainian 
forces,  the  worst  element  of  the  army  started  pogroms. 
Once  more  the  Government  disavowed  them,  sentenced 
the  perpetrators  to  death,  expressed  their  deepest  sympa- 
thy with  the  Jews  and  promised  the  fullest  compensation 
to  the  sufferers.  I  must  unhappily  admit  that  the  last 
pogroms  as  to  which  I  have  information — those  of  Feb- 
ruary and  March  last — were  very  bad,  thousands  of  Jews 
being  killed.  They  were  instigated  by  criminals,  Black 
Hundreds,  and  Bolsheviks,  who  wished  to  discredit  the 
Ukrainian  Government.  These  events  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  me,  and  at  the  end  of  March  I  tendered  my 
resignation.  I  stated  that  I  was  aware  that  the  Govern- 
ment were  not  to  blame  for  the  pogroms,  but  that,  as  a 
Jew,  I  felt  that  I  could  not  retain  an  official  position  in  a 
country  where  my  brethren  were  being  massacred.  My 


20 

resignation  was  not  accepted,  and  the  Government  begged 
me  to  continue  to  give  my  services  at  least  abroad,  and 
I  was  appointed  as  one  of  a  mission  of  four  to  represent 
the  Ukraine  at  the  Peace  Conference,  my  colleagues  be- 
ing the  former  Ministers,  M.  M.  Sidorenko,  Paneiko,  and 
Shulgin.  The  prevalence  of  pogroms  in  the  Ukraine 
may  be  partly  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  Ukrainians, 
although  constituting  a  distinct  political  entity,  were  sub- 
ject for  250  years  to  Russia,  and  have  acquired,  as  an 
evil  inheritance,  what  I  may  call  the  pogrom  habit.  It  is 
at  least  a  matter  for  satisfaction  that  there  is  no  anti- 
Semitic  tendency  in  the  Ukraine  Government,  which  dif- 
fers in  this  respect,  very  notably,  from  that  prevailing  in 
Poland.  It  is  to  the  progress  of  democratic  ideals  in  the 
Ukraine  that  we  must  look  for  the  elimination  of  the  evil 
pogrom  element." 


21 

Justice  and  Polity  Demand  Fair 
Treatment  of  the  Jews 

by 
DE.  MARK  VISHNITZER 

Jewish  Historian  and  Editor  of  the  "Jewish  Encyclopedia'' 
and  the  "History  of  the  Jewish  People." 

After  Ukraine  had  shaken  off  the  centennial  chains  of  for- 
eign sovereignty  and  was  proclaimed  as  a  free  State,  it  was 
thought  in  leading  Ukrainian  circles  that  autonomic,  national 
rights  should  be  given  to  the  nationalities  that  have,  since 
ancient  times,  been  domiciled  in  Ukraine.  Thereby  peace 
would  be  secured  among  the  different  nationalities  in  the  new 
State,  and  the  co-operation  of  all  the  different  tribes  of  peo- 
ple would  be  gained  for  the  building  up  of  the  Ukrainian 
republic. 

The  scope  of  this  decision  can  be  appreciated  when  we  re- 
member what  the  Ukrainian  people  have  suffered  in  the  course 
of  time  from  national  suppression.  But  it  was  also  wise, 
farseeing  and  beneficial  to  the  State  to  win  over  the  minori- 
ties to  the  cause  of  the  new  State,  for  those  minorities — Rus- 
sians, Jews  and  Poles — have  always  been,  and  are  still,  in 
numbers,  reputation,  cultural  development  and  economical 
consideration,  important  factors  in  the  country. 

Guarantees  of  the  Ukrainian  Parliament 

In  order  to  safeguard  the  national  interests  of  the  afore- 
said nationalities,  special  State-Secretary  offices  were  estab- 
lished. In  the  first  so-called  ' '  Universal, ' '  or  proclamation  to 
the  people,  "Central  Rada"  (the  Ukrainian  Parliament) 
promised  to  protect  the  national  rights  of  the  minority  na- 
tionalities. In  the  third  "Universal"  the  "Rada"  went  still 
further  and  granted  national  personal  autonomy  to  the  Rus- 
sian, Jewish,  Polish  and  other  minority  nationalities,  and  held 
out  prospects  of  a  special  law  in  this  respect  being  made. 
Thus  the  Jewish  question,  which  has  been  worrying  most 
European  countries,  was  solved  in  a  clear  and  natural  way. 


22 
Proved  by  Experience  of  Latter  Years 

The  experiences  of  latter  years  have  proved  to  us  that  it 
does  not  pay  to  have  a  civil  emancipation  of  the  Jewish  in- 
habitants. We  realize  more  and  more  that  the  civil  emanci- 
pation can  not  be  the  final  solution  of  the  Jewish  question, 
and  that  the  recognition  of  all  people  as  equally  entitled  mem- 
bers of  a  State  is  the  consequence  of  the  recognition  of  all 
nations  as  equally  entitled  factors  in  the  progress  of  human- 
ity. Thus  this  demand  which  the  Jewish  civil  and  socialistic 
parties  present  with  more  and  more  force  is  for  the  first  time 
recognized  as  authorized  and  is  fulfilled  in  Ukraine. 

The  law  proposed  by  the  government  has  been  elaborated 
by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Jewish  Affairs,  and  on  January 
9,  1918,  it  was  unanimously  passed  by  the  Central  Rada.  In 
this  law  it  was  solemnly  declared  that  all  people  in  Ukraine 
have  a  right  to  national-personal  autonomy,  i.  e.,  a  right  of 
independent  determination  of  their  national  life,  especially  by 
means  of  national  leagues  composed  of  members  of  the  re- 
spective nationality.  The  right  to  national-personal  autonomy 
is  an  inviolable  right.  This  right  can  not  be  denied  any  peo- 
ple in  the  Ukrainian  republic,  and  neither  can*  it  be  restricted 
for  those  who  enjoy  it.  The  national  league  has  a  right  to 
impose  taxes  on  its  members  and  to  take  all  steps  that  it  finds 
necessary  to  protect  all  cultural  and  other  demands. 

Jewish  Life  Able  to  Develop  Freely 

Owing  to  the  political  conditions  the  law  has  not  yet  taken 
effect,  but  during  the  two  years  the  independent  Ukrainian 
State  has  existed  public  Jewish  life  has  been  able  to  develop 
freely.  The  Jews  in  Ukraine  have  the  most  extended  national 
rights.  The  Jewish  language  is  officially  recognized,  a  Jewish 
ministry  has  been  able  to  develop  its  activity.  Jewish  con- 
gregations have  been  able  to  thrive  in  freedom,  and  new  Jew- 
ish schools  have  grown  up.  In  the  newly  founded  university 
at  Kamenetz  Podolsk,  the  government  has  established  a  pro- 
fessor's chair  for  Jewish  history  and  literature,  and  hereby 
the  national  rights  of  the  Jewish  people  have  been  still  more 
emphasized. 


23 

Jewish  Aspirations  Peaceably  Attained 

The  Government  in  East  Galicia  (the  West  Ukrainian  Re 
public)  has,  in  every  case,  shown  much  understanding  with 
respect  to  the  demands  of  the  Jewish  inhabitants  for  autono- 
my. The  Jews  have  here,  as  in  Great  Ukraine,  without  fight- 
ing and  without  any  special  exertions,  attained  what  they 
have  striven  after  and  are  still  striving  after  in  other  coun- 
tries, for  instances  in  Poland  and  Roumania.  It  was,  at  least 
lately,  necessary  at  the  peace  conference  to  fight  some  of  the 
Poles.  The  arrangement  with  the  Poles  contains  a  whole 
series  of  provisions  with  respect  to  political  and  national  rights 
for  Jews,  but  all  these  together  can  not  anywhere  near  equal 
the  regulations  of  the  Jewish  question  which  have  been  estab- 
lished by  the  Central  Rada  in  its  grand  law  concerning  na- 
tional-personal autonomy.  There  is  lacking  a  central  Jewish 
school  system ;  there  is  even  lacking  an  organ  for  Jewish  au- 
tonomic  organizations  in  the  country,  even  the  nucleus  of 
national  autonomy  is  lacking. 

The  Roumanians  even  refuse  to  give  the  Jews  the  slight 
admissions  granted  them  by  the  Poles,  but  they  will  probably 
submit  to  the  pressure  exercised  by  the  Allied  Powers.  No 
matter  how  this  turns  out,  the  Polish  agreement  does  not  con- 
tain the  provisions  that  the  Jews  are  striving  for.  The  Jews 
in  Ukraine  will  lose  much  if  the  imperialistic  aspirations  of 
the  Poles,  Russians  and  Roumanians  for  Ukrainian  land 
should  become  a  reality. 


24 

Israel  Zangwill  Commends  New  Re- 
public's Attitude  Toward  the 
Jews  in  Ukraine 

(A  letter  from  Israel  Zangwill,  noted  writer  and  President 
of  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization,  in  reply  to  an  invita- 
tion by  the  Ukrainian  Government  to  participate  in  the  com- 
mission for  the  investigation  of  Jewish  pogroms  in  Ukraine.) 

October  20,  1919. 
THE    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    DELEGATION    OF    THE 

UKRAINIAN  REPUBLIC 
DEAR  SIR: — 

I  feel  highly  honored  at  the  invitation  of  the  Ukrainian 
Government  to  take  part  in  the  proposed  Commission  for  the 
investigation  of  anti-Jewish  pogroms,  but  I  am  away  in  Wales, 
resting  under  medical  advice,  and  do  not  feel  the  strength  to 
undertake  the  journey.  Moreover,  if  Doctor  Yochelman,  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization, 
forms  one  of  the  members  my  organization  will  be  sufficiently 
represented.  I  take  the  opportunity  of  saying,  however,  that 
it  needed  not  this  step,  nor  even  your  honest  admission  of  the 
deplorable  facts  as  regards  the  towns,  to  convince  me  that 
your  government  is  working  hard,  if  not  perhaps  its  hardest, 
to  stop  massacres  for  which  the  unsettled  state  of  Russia  is 
largely  responsible. 

The  national  rights  you  have  given  to  the  Jews  are  a  mani- 
festation of  true  statesmanship  and  in  shining  contrast  with 
the  Jewish  policy  of  Poland,  and  I  can  only  hope  that  your 
Republic  will  be  preserved  to  give  the  rest  of  the  world  an 
example  of  the  strength  and  the  exalted  patriotism  that  comes 
from  the  cordial  co-operation  and  mutual  respect  of  all  the 
varied  racial  and  religious  elements  that  make  up  a  modern 
State.  That  these  massacres,  if  they  continue,  will  destroy 
your  State  no  less  surely  than  its  innocent  victims,  adds  to  the 
regret  with  which  I,  as  a  supporter  of  the  principle  of  self- 
determination,  observe  your  present  failure  to  suppress  them 
entirely. 

Again  thanking  you  for  the  honor  of  your  invitation, 

Sincerely  yours, 

ISRAEL  ZANGWILL. 


A     000  121  109     3 


